ICBC has a de facto monopoly on car insurance in British Columbia. Pretty much everyone hates them, and has some horror story about how they or their friend or relative was screwed by the insurance giant.
So, when my wife was in a fender bender two weeks ago (she’s fine), we feared the worst. To my surprise, however, we’ve been treated with respect and dealt with fairly and efficiently. Our claims meeting was short and painless. The adjuster clearly articulated what they would and would not cover (in terms of out-of-pocket expenses). We easily obtained a rental car, covered by ICBC, when the body shop didn’t have any courtesy cars (thank goodness, because I’d feel like a pariah in one of those things). And we didn’t have to battle, squabble or plead for anything.
The key here may be that the other driver accepted 100% of the blame for the accident, and no one was seriously injured. I’m no cheerleader for ICBC, but this experience certainly was as simple and pain-free as it could have been.
I should add: if you ever complain about car insurance prices, go investigate the cost of insuring a car in Ireland. On top of the higher rates, they profile drivers more thoroughly there. A young man might pay twice as much (across the board, those rates are suspiciously low–my anecdotal experience puts the actual costs at twice that at least) as a middle-aged woman.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I’ve never had anything but good experiences with ICBC. I might be biased, as my step-mother is an adjuster, so I know what it’s like from both sides… but even with accidents that were my fault (all one of them) I’ve always had good luck.
My dealings with them are four break ins, two accidents (one my fault, one 100% the other guy), and one hit & run — I have very little bad to say about them. I even got a free rental car when my truck got broken into (which must have been new, because when my car got broken into *three times in one year* I didn’t get anything.)
The hit & run (on my bike) could have been really bad… to the tune of $750 for $800 worth of damage. However, someone got the license plate. Hahaha, suckers.
From what I can tell, you seem to get treated differently depending on which claims centre you go to. I’ve heard good results from people going to the one on Broadway in Kits. Conversely, don’t even bother with the ones in Surrey or Richmond.
That said, my (and others I know) experience with ICBC has been pretty miserable. They seem to rely on people giving up with them in frustration rather than settling claims amicably. Getting into even a minor accident is a fairly traumatic experience (or at the very least, unpleasant)…having to fight with your insurance company over every conceivable aspect of your claim is reprehensible. Far too often the attitude I’ve received has been one of treating the claimant as though they are all trying to bilk the system. ICBC is nearly universally detested and rightfully so.
The ICBC has been one of the most striking “I didn’t realize it would be this different” aspects of my moving to BC. Yes, auto insurance is very different from place to place.
Some differences to chew on: in TX, the required liability was only $10,000 (later raised to $25,000, I believe). 100x difference. No wonder the premiums here are higher, but also no wonder the number of wrongful injury lawsuits is practically zero in comparison.
Regarding profiling, my auto insurance dropped exactly in half when I turned 25 (I didn’t feel like I’d been that much more dangerous the year before, but someone did). There are few restrictions on premium equality in general, so a responsible older female driver in a sedan might be paying only US$700 a whole year, while a multi-accident young male driver in a sports car could pay as much as US$600 a month (obviously, usually they don’t, and either settle for a different car, or just go uninsured — another very common problem in the States).
Personally, I have had decent dealings with ICBC. While, yes, there were times that I felt that I was getting screwed – I have come to realize that that is the job of an insurance corp.
Moving between BC, Washington, and now Florida I have seen auto insurance in very different lights. Seattle was the worse where I paid through the nose in premiums because I was “too young” and “too inexperienced” – for note they did not accept my BC driving history. Florida is more in par with BC. However, the biggest thing is the confusion. License & registration, uninsured motorists, etc are a big concern down here … in BC, ICBC made sure you were both licensed and registered which, to me, helps ensure that there are fewer uninsured motorists.
I like the single base-coverage and the 3rd party choices on the extended coverage model (as is currently available in BC). I think it helps protect the motorists more and gives everyone on the road a fair starting position.
ICBC is an insurance company. They are out to make money and thus don’t like paying huge settlements. They have to protect themselves from abuse and thus breed hate due to “red tape”. I think they should be held accountable as a company … though I do like them being tied to government so that they are held accountable to the people as well. (A dual role)
I have never had a good expereince with ICBC. Recently I was in afender bender and the other driver was at fault. However, this could not be proved by examining both of our cars, I am still fighting it and am getting very angry! I understand that overall ICBC must be …good… but I however had not had the opportunity to expereince that side ot it!
I’m collecting your ICBC horror stories to be featured in my new film which will expose how this insurance monopoly really treats people and how their decisions have effected your life.
If you were involved in a Car Accident as a driver, a passenger or even a pedestrian…
If you were unhappy with your settlement, or maybe were outright declined coverage for any reason…
Whats your story?
Who was involved?
What happened?
Where did it take place?
What was the outcome? Why are you unhappy with ICBC’s decision?
How has ICBC’s decision changed your life?
Take action! We all know the saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”… so lets make the biggest, squeakiest wheel ever ICBC claims centers have ever heard!
If you are really upset with your ICBC decision, I know this will be a fun and exciting opportunity to voice your opinion and help create awareness.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Sincerely,
Renae
I have a story that will blow your mind…..Hit a moose far from home Dec. 5, 08…now in a battle for 34 days….deceitful, arrogant,insensative, ineffective, indifferent, vengeful, …..these people have it all. Anyone but me would give up….I hate bullies…..they are in for the battle of their lives…everyone I tell it to says ” OH MY GOD”……my ICBC sales agent is discusted (sp?)……I will get someone’s job for this….Do You want to hear this one?
i was recently in an accident in which my cousin was the other driver but he took full responsibility at the claims center but the special investigator still told me that because my motorcycle was just insured 5 days previous to the accident that he does not believe the accident happened at all and then told me if i did not drop the claim and tell him what he thinks is the truth he can charge me with fraud for making false claim and he could sue me he also wanted my cell phone records for that day
If you are making a fim about icbc I am interested please contact me
I am a victim of a serious mva where i was the passenger with a fully licenced driver, from 2002 which took 5 years to settle for a petty amout even thou my spine exploded and im disabled for life, as well as a victim of a theft of my truck which i am still fighting icbc for, after 6 months they still havnt settles, if there is someone out there who is makin a movie about this im all for having my story heard and its a doozie! from neglect on behalf of lawyers to pay outs to keep people quiet i got it all! icbc screwed me every way but side ways!
Can you please contact me regarding your documentary about ICBC…I have a couple of very interesting experiences over the years with ICBC…a few were good and straightforward, but one is quite ‘sketchy’ where Icbc takes advantage of the fact that I was unable to complete the repairs on a claim they authorized…within the 2year time period, due to a life threatening illness…The accident they were paying for was under 1000$ and was mostly to be paid by me with a 700$ deductible as another driver hit and run me at an intersection that is notoriously the scene of accidents due to the frequency of it’s traffic lights being on the blink..meaning out completely…I simply asked them to extend the time period for the claim as I had literally been on bedrest and worse during the two years…and off work with no $$$….I went to a higher level supervisor to question this practice, as the claim form only says that failing to complete the work within two years MAY result in loss of right to the claim…I pointed this out to him…and he paid absolutely no attention…I wonder how they figure it is reasonable to be vague and misleading in their loosely defined coverage…defining it sharply in their favor when it suits them,,,,yet expect everyone else..their consumers to follow rules strictly and further more to be honest….As a no accident driver, this seems cold and self -serving …I have more…
Are you still making the documentary?
If so, I would be more than happy to participate by giving you my story and any other help you need.
Thanks,
Lisa
maybe he deserved to get hit by a car…
I would jike to be part of this too
I have not had a good experience with ICBC. Recently I was involved in an accident where I rear ended a lady. It was a very low impact accident, we were both fine and there was minimal damage to our cars(I did not make a claim). However, it was my fault… I was 100% responsible.
I decided to try and pay off the damage made to her car and asked ICBC to send me an invoice to review. When I received it it had the total amount and then a hand written statement for a ‘Vehicle Rental’ and an additional $45.14 charge… then another handwritten total. I had stayed in contact with the other driver and she had informed me that she didn’t use a rental car at all.
When I called the first time the ICBC employee told me the shop charged them so they will charge me… no explanation. I then called the head office, the woman I spoke to there told me that this was just an ‘industry standard’ and they automatically charge this even if a rental car is not used.
I wrote a letter to the ICBC Fairness Commission. I am not expecting them to do much… considering they run it. But I do feel this is unethical and refuse to be a ‘sheep’ and follow the crowd of unhappy ICBC customers.
I’m having a bad experience w/ ICBC right now — something hit my car when it was parked in a parking lot and I wasn’t there. I have no idea what happened, so I filed a hit and run claim.
They told me that it looks like I hit a wall — basically they accused me of lying. I called again and left a message, which they haven’t returned, so I guess I’m just stuck paying for this damage.
I have had two accidents in the last three years: a very minor scrape in a parking lot, and I rear-ended a vehicle when my brake line burst (according to ICBC, a 100% my fault accident). I am now forced to pay a 250% premium which effectively means that I cannot afford anything but the very base level of insurance. According to the ICBC website, “If you cause crashes, then you pay a higher premium”.
Let me explain that I do not “cause crashes”. I am human, and I make mistakes no more or less than any other human. I owned the vehicle less than a week and had it mechanically inspected by a dealer garage before I bought it, and yet the brake line still burst.
I will now take me 12 years of paying grossly over-rated premiums before I am able to get insurance in BC for a fair premium (assuming that I don’t utilize the “services” of ICBC in the meantime).
ICBC,
3 Points.
#1 Their intentions legally are to cause blame on you. They force people to pay fines, and our only method of retort is to “dispute”, putting blame on us making us sound bad. If your friend randomly told you to pay you 500 bucks because you spilled some soda on his couch you would tell him to piss off and you would either clean his couch or replace the cushion. Well ICBC says you did this, and were are going to gauge you for it by charging you with a fine. We cannot tell them to piss off, its an accident. They go give us cash and be on your merry way.
#2 They are a monopoly and a crown corporation and therefore should notify the public of all and every change. They do not do this nor will they ever do this.
#3 ICBC does not have British Columbians at interest, this has been proven in media many times. They are any typical private company, their main goal is based on profits, and lots of em. If their profits come from us or their investments they reward their staff (greatly) and the people of BC are the furthest thing from their mind. I understand Christmas bonus’s but if you were for a crown corporation, and you do a really good job at ripping someone off you should be hung out to dry and sentenced to decent term in jail. This might sound harsh but their jobs are to make money from us from a “technically” free thing called transportation.
Finally, if you take the 3 points above and compile/combine them together, you have technically created a monster. They have a soldier of policeman doing their enforcing of rules and regulations that can be changed at will, and can charge you with the most they can suck out of that one specific thing money wise.
The Definition of an accident:
Literally, a befalling; an event that takes place without one’s foresight or expectation; an undesigned, sudden, and unexpected event; chance; contingency; often, an undesigned and unforeseen occurrence of an afflictive or unfortunate character;
Humans were not design perfectly, they have accidents all the time. ICBC gets to have free reign over VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. Grrreat.
ICBC should be relinquished of the REIGN of TERROR they have brought to BC and move onto some where else. If someone comes on here and posts, oh well you should see Ireland they make people pay even more, tell them we are not Ireland we are from BC, and we wont put up with this.
not to mention their premiums have gone through the roof, and their profits are every exceeding off or British Columbians pockets, and offering little or no competition to bring market prices down. Oh wait there is no market.
ICBC has become a criminal organization. Claims adjusters are told to settle claims in the best interest of the corporation. Accident claims are not settled fairly, they are settled in favour of the corporations bottom line. They have tended to go to a 50/50 settlement in most cases, where both drivers are found at fault and both have their rates increased.
The corporation is riddled with corruption, repaired vehicles sold without disclosure of their accident history and managers buying repaired vehicles dirt cheap on rigged auctions being the latest story to hit the news.
The corruption however, is far more widespread than that. Performance bonuses are paid to managers if the corporations bottom line increases, regardless of the reason, whether it be fewer claims because of a mild winter or cheating clients of their due.
The bottom line is simple greed. Cheat he clients and get a bonus cheque.
Sure I’ve had a few claims in the past that were settled reasonably. Got my windshield replaced for $200. My vehicle was vandalized and ICBC paid for the repairs. I also have a nearly 30 year clean driving record. These claims were simple and straight forward. Accident claims are something else. The person with the most damage will be found at fault and not covered, or the old 50/50.
When I moved to BC from Ontario my basic car insurance doubled. For a second vehicle here I pay full premiums. In Ontario the second vehicle was $300 a year. Of course this was through a large and well known private insurance company. I shopped around for the best rates and coverage.
Lets hope that the recent sudden resignation of the ICBC, CEO is a turning point. The beginning of criminal investigation into how this monster rips off each and every resident of this province, every day.
I have had nothing but horrible expierences with ICBC. I had three little fender benders in parking lots in one year while I was backing up. Two of the times the other vehicles came out of nowhere and because my truck was lifted I could not see them. My insurance premiums went up to 250% surcharge and I was at 43% roadstar savings before the accidents. My insurance for my car is now $2000.00/month. Obviously I can not afford to pay this so I am forced to drive a vehicle that is not insured in my name. If I am put down as the principle operator then I still have to pay that ridiculous amount. So I am driving with someone elses insurance which is illegal according to ICBC.
I comute to Vancouver everyday on the #1 highway and with traffic the way it is and the roads not built for this much traffic how can you avoid the odd accident it is impossible. This Government in BC has got us all in a corner. They know the roads are conjested they do nothing about it or very little and blame us for the accidents on the roads that we are bad drivers and we have to pay yet none of the millions of dollars that ICBC has made in profits are going to build more bridges and better roads. There is no form of transit from the fraser valley into Vancouver. The average person cannot afford to live in Vancouver and now with gas prices we should all stay home and collect welfare maybe that would hit them where it hurts.
I think BC is in need of some drastic changes to its government and we as the people should be pushing this. It is too bad that people have road rage on one another and when involved in an accident the first thing that goes through your mind should not be my dahmrance is going to sky rocket. Rather this anger should be taken out on this provinces government. I dont know about you but I have had enough.
I have had nothing but horrible expierences with ICBC. I had three little fender benders in parking lots in one year while I was backing up. Two of the times the other vehicles came out of nowhere and because my truck was lifted I could not see them. My insurance premiums went up to 250% surcharge and I was at 43% roadstar savings before the accidents. My insurance for my car is now $2000.00/month. Obviously I can not afford to pay this so I am forced to drive a vehicle that is not insured in my name. If I am put down as the principle operator then I still have to pay that ridiculous amount. So I am driving with someone elses insurance which is illegal according to ICBC.
I comute to Vancouver everyday on the #1 highway and with traffic the way it is and the roads not built for this much traffic how can you avoid the odd accident it is impossible. This Government in BC has got us all in a corner. They know the roads are conjested they do nothing about it or very little and blame us for the accidents on the roads that we are bad drivers and we have to pay yet none of the millions of dollars that ICBC has made in profits are going to build more bridges and better roads. There is no form of transit from the fraser valley into Vancouver. The average person cannot afford to live in Vancouver and now with gas prices we should all stay home and collect welfare maybe that would hit them where it hurts.
I think BC is in need of some drastic changes to its government and we as the people should be pushing this. It is too bad that people have road rage on one another and when involved in an accident the first thing that goes through your mind should not be my dahm insurance is going to sky rocket. Rather this anger should be taken out on this provinces government. I dont know about you but I have had enough.
DEAR READERS MY NMINIVAN GOT STOLEN ,IT WAS 1994 PLYMOUTH VOYJOR VERY NICELY KEPT LIKE COLLECTER CAR , BUT ICBC GAVE ME A VERY SOUR DEAL ,REASON RACIAL PREJUDICE . I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR MY INSURACE SINCE BILL BENET BROUGHT ICBC , I DID COMPLAIN TO OMMBADS MAN OFFICE BUT NO AVAIL , IF SOME ONE CAN HELP ME PLEASE !TOTTLE LOSE DEPT WOMAN HAD SO Awe attitude . i know in icbc all workers are cousins , as this is just society ! may be too much !
My wife was parked at the grocery store. As she was putting our 3 year old in his car seat, rear passenger door open, a driver tried to pull into the next stall, hit the end of our door and bingo – we are found partly to blame. I’d love to hear others opinions/experiences. This is a new one in my experience, and I think the other driver basically hit our parked car and should be found 100% at fault. A close shave or my wife or son would have been hit, too.
Thanks, everyone ~ this burns me up. I’m an average guy supporting a family on a single income.
The bottom line is people who drives with an excellent insurance record always get screwed up, why? because we always pay for the damage cost by the irresponsible and idiot driver on the street.
I suggest that ICBC should return percentage of our insurance fee if we were not involve in any accident or collision in a year instead giving us a stupid discount scale, through this it will convince people to drive safely. just a thought..
I have lived in BC for 3 years now. So far i have been rear ended by an American driver, I have had my car stolen, and i hit a cyclist @2km/h while she was running a stop sign. In that order. previos to this i lived in ontario and the UK and had never gotten a ticket, or in an accident. When my car was rear ended, they would not repair the damages to the car(an exaust), rather they pained the car, and cleaned it. wierd eh. it cost em more than 1000 dollars to do so, but it would of cost 300 to get the exaust fixed. When my car was stolen i lost all my stuff in the car, they took it 4×4’ing up in squamish(i live in vancouver). they first said i stole my own car. then they said the damages to the car were there before(fuel pump, tranny, many other pieces) thing is how would the guy who stole my car get it to squamish if it was broken before. now my car does not work correctly, so i cant drive it .. wait didnt i get my car stolen. finaly i just had my meeting with ICBC. the first thing out of her mouth was you blew the light. well if i did that why isnt the paint scraped from hitting the bike. they tried to tell me that a peson wearing all black with no lights on her bike, would win a he said she said argument cuz i have no witness. the witess said that it was the bikers fault. wierd i know that i am gonna be screwed by em. also i was told that bikes dont need to follow the street rules. mabey they woudlnt say that if they had to insure them.
I really dont understand ICBC and their rules. are they a government ministry? Why do they represent both sides of an argument. arnt i entitled to fair representation. seems a might unconstitutional. In ontario we have no fault insurance. that means if i hit you, both our rates go up, and our own insurance pays for our damages, and my driving record would have a blemish. potentialy if you really broke the driving rules you may not be able to be insured again. fair enough… since the rules are so harsh right off the bat people go out of their way not to be in accients. there is no thought of i can get tons of money. usaly people, when in an accident might not even call the insurance since we both would have to pay deductibles and have our rates go up even if their is only 50 dollars damage. one of my freinds pulling in to a gas station slid on the Ice, hititing anouther car. he broke the licence plate cover of the other car. he had to pay nothing for deductible cuz he had no damages, but his rates went up over 100 bucks a month the other guy who reported it also had his rates incresed since he claimed. seems harsh but both parties are protected. i bet you that there is more accidents in BC per capita than Ontario per captia even tho its much harder and more dengerous to drive in Ontario.
cyclists… they drive on roads with cars. they are essentially a vehicle.. i have to insure a car, a boat, a plane, and a any other vehicle i can think of. now a bike can cause a serios accident on the roads, why dont they pay insurance.. i mean its not like they would pay much… but they should have to pay to go on the roads. also police should enforce regulations agianst bikers.if they had to pay insurance and the street laws were enforced on them, do you think that they would ride so reclessly anymore.
Dear Rahim,
I am biased I suppose because I’m a licensed driver and a cycling safety instructor for a national program affiliated with insurable employable cyclists (police, security, paramedics), who has been hit twice by an at-fault driver while cycling and quite injured both times. The damage to the cars was tiny scrapes, and the damage to me and my youthful prospects was enormous – couldn’t walk 100m without a cane from 21-25 years old, lost 2 years of co-op opportunities because I couldn’t type after the second accident, and lost three years of cycling and teaching due to stress on my bike and too much hand pain to grip the bars this last time. Still, I was never eligible for school or workplace accommodations because I wasn’t considered disabled by doctors (are they in denial?) because my injuries were expected to heal within 2-10 years and disabilities are only considered real if they are to be “permanent” ones.
Most cycling accidents have nothing to do with cars, and only injure the cyclists who claim like any personal injury without vehicles if there is an external reason. Dogs and pedestrians are more common than cyclists on roads still, and don’t require insurance to be on the roads (and darting across at surprising times). Many many cyclists are also drivers, also paying insurance.
Police DO enforce laws to cyclists, about as often as they do for cars per capita participating. Cyclists are injured by cars many times more severely, and the fatality risk of cyclists and cars is much higher for cyclists. See ICBC’s 2007 collision reports.
Some cyclists are quite careless (like the one you hit – idiotically unlit and running signs in front of traffic). Many drivers also run stop lights and roll through stop signs, or hit and run with no consequences. The difference is that while drivers are hit with points and a small fine and premium increase, the minor fender benders (for the cars) that I suffered caused me years of lost income, delayed schooling, thousands of dollars of physio and ptsd therapy, pain, reduced mobility and ill health. With my first lawyer I received $15,000 for all of this. My feet are still no good for more than an hour on pavement or at the mall, with orthotics, 12 years later, and I’m still in school after a delay of 5 years while I could not walk to buses nor use a wheelchair. The driver had 6 points on his license for a year. How is that fair?
I have a lot to lose from having a collision, and so have been very careful as a cyclist all my life, but can’t say the same for many cars I share the road with. Not all accidents are as mild as mine either. Two cyclist friends have head injuries despite wearing helmets, one from a hit-and-run from behind. I’ve met quite a few cyclists with gravel stuck in their faces, and dental reconstructions. Others can’t walk. The cars and drivers needed scratch paint and dent-pulling, maybe some guilt counselling. I know there are probably some serious car crashes caused by avoiding cyclists, but searching the case law on LexisNexis I can only find lots of cases where drivers hit cyclists from behind and while turning on wide, clear roads where many witnesses could see the cyclist coming.
Cyclists who cause accidents in my experience are usually too poor to have paid into anything anyways. Most are barely out of their teens or are intoxicated or immature. Thankfully, the damage they cause to vehicles is usually very minimal. They are very similar to pedestrians in that way, and that’s why I think they aren’t insured.
In Denmark all fault for cyclist-hitting has recently shifted onto cars – this has almost ended cyclist-car collisions, better for everyone because if the accidents don’t happen, no-one pays. Intersection controls are being cut too, so that everyone has to be very observant and stop taking their right of way for granted.
if i ran a business like icbc runs things i would probably be put in jail for so many crimes. too many horror stories to write about. like my wife was t-boned then six months later we get rearended on purpose by a road rager who thinks i am driving too slow. my wife was making okay progress at physio from the first accident but after being rearended her pain level and injuries are off the charts. i end up taking her to emergency because of the pain too many times to count where we are told that nothing can really be done for her but they give her several shots of pain killers like morphine and then we are shown the doors to leave. finally one year later she is told by a speacialist that she has fibromyalgia and may never heal from it. we finally settle in mediation with icbc for a lower amount as i think the stress that icbc puts on injured claimants is the cause of prolonged injuries. we then have a daughter and start a family and after 6 months after our daughter is born my wife decides that she might be able to go to work. she finally gets her dream job working with kids, it is good pay and good benefits. after only working for one week we go to our friends house for a baby shower and on our way there we are the first to be rearended in a five car accident by someone i suspect was talking on the phone, or texting or not driving because if they were driving they would not have hit us. we are hit so hard our seats literally break and we both have to get eye glasses because the muscles in our eyes are damaged and cannot focus properly. i now cannot work and niether can my wife. you would think that if two parents were injured icbc might try to help you out with raising your child but think again, they offer no help, we pay for everything on our own and they dont reinburse us a penny. now i dont know about you but i dont know too many people that have three months savings to live on in case of an emergency but we did luckily. however we are getting on to the fifth month now and nothing from icbc. they say my wife doesnt qualify for any benifits because she only worked for a week and that i was on parental leave with ei and i dont qualify either. it is unbelivable. they are trying to starve us out. we are about to live on the streets soon but they dont care, it seems no one does.
Terry, you really need a lawyer. Don’t deal with ICBC on your own. In my past 2 accidents (texting drivers blowing stop signs to t-bone, taxi merging unsafely and rear-ending) the lawyer has had them running scared and paying for physio and some income replacement. Also, lawyers are great for helping with organizing evidence and explaining what ICBC is likely to do. I haven’t had a very serious accident thankfully, and so the lawyers were willing to work with me up front. Neither claim needed to go to court, but settlements were OK and included my costs, my lost income, future lost income, and some pain/suffering amounts. Also, the lawyers only charged about 25% of my settlement, which was 4X greater than what ICBC originally offered. Call the Law Society of BC for a referral and you are less likely to get a frothing ambulance chaser like the ones I’ve spoken to from the yellow pages (and my first one). Don’t leave it to the last minute or you may be stuck with the frother because you have left it too late. You have 2 years from the date of a crash to file a claim.
All health to you and your wife. It’s incredibly depressing to be injured, I would know having lost my 20s to feet so sore from multiple fractures and sprains from my collision that I could barely hobble. 9+ years later, they are still too sore to go back to my old running and cross country skiing hobbies, and I’ve had to give up jobs that involve lots of standing (teaching/nursing/medicine/lab science were my dreams), and can not wear heels or shoes without padding at all. I CAN backpack now though wearing quality boots, and am slowly getting over the PTSD about intersections. I’m so happy about the new texting while driving ban!
I have also had problems with ICBC here is a link to my site where I have written a post about it….
http://taraden.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/icbc-sucks/
ICBC is mercurial in its dealings.
In my case, I was struck, from behind by a speeder
who crashed into me while I was waiting to turn left.
Though my signals were operating, he was on his cell phone talking to his momma and failed to see me stopped.
He hit me at 45 mph, did $3,200. damage bent the metal in the trunk, and injured me.
Where it went sideways, was with my claims adjuster, who , in her words, said, ”we have to look at it another way” and found me %100 liable.
No amount of protest got me anywhere.
My claims adjuster lied to the OSMV and claimed I had diminished ability to drive, because of my age..
OSMV refused to reveal how it was informed, when, what was said, and by whom.
If you have problems with ICBC, NO ONE will take your side .. NOT EVEN THE BC OMBUDSMAN.
It’s been six years and everyone representing ICBC refuses to tell the truth.